Cage Cleaning

Hamsters are by nature very clean animals. Typically they prefer to have 1 to 2 toilet spots they frequent to urinate, leaving other parts of their burrows and enclosure untouched. Still, it will be necessary to clean out the enclosure regularly. 

Many owners are confused about the frequency and scale though, as there is plenty of information online. Perhaps some remember having a hamster in a small cage as a kid and having to toss all the bedding weekly as it was soiled. Others might feel dread thinking of the hundreds of liters of bedding in their cage they would need to pull out.

It is important to understand what happens when cleaning out the cage, as we not only remove soiled substrate but also important scent marks. Hamsters use them to orient themselves around their environment, to mark their territory (their home) and to feel safe. 

Removing their scent marks can make the hamster feel stressed, lost and overwhelmed. If you remove all of their scent marks, they will feel as if you have placed them in a new, unknown environment. They will need to mark it all again to have it feel like home. 

So how often should you be cleaning the cage? Simple: As much as necessary, but as rarely as possible.

There is not a “one size fits all” solution! For example, Syrian hamsters will usually urinate more than a Roborowski Dwarf hamster. Also, a hamster only passing water in their wheel needs a different approach than one that urinates down in their burrows. 

The most important tool you have when it comes to both determining frequency of cleanings as well as location of soiled substrate is your nose. Of course different people have different sensitivities about what they experience as “bad smell”, therefore it is also important to keep in mind that hamsters consume about 1 to 2 ml of water every day – and equally low is the volume of what comes out the other end.

The water source (bowl or bottle) should be cleaned daily, likewise if you offer a bowl for fresh vegetables. If you offered fresh vegetables the night before, check their burrows and remove any stashed vegetable to prevent it from rotting.

If your hamster urinates in the wheel or the sandbath you should clean them every couple of days. You can use unscented baby wipes to clean off the wheel and a tea sieve or reptile sieve to clean the sandbath.

Every 1 to 2 weeks you should clean out soiled (peed on) bedding from their nest. If they sleep above ground or use a multi-chamber house they might dedicate a corner as the toilet area, in that case you can easily remove all the soiled substrate and replace it with fresh one. 

If your hamster sleeps underground and you cannot locate a toilet area above ground (wheel, sandbath, in one of the hideouts) you need to dig through their tunnels to remove the soiled bedding. In that case, cleaning frequency should be closer to 2 weeks, as going through their tunnels can damage them.

On some occasions hamsters with deep bedding (30 cm / 12 in or more) might be good at rearranging the substrate and drying out the urine. In that case you might have a particularly hard time to locate the toilet area by feel alone. That’s where using your nose comes in handy.

If your hamster urinates in the wheel you might want to clean it with dish soap and vinegar about once per week. Make sure to wash it with clean water afterwards and let it dry before putting it back in. 

About once per week or when necessary you can also sift the sand to remove seeds, bedding and droppings. That way it stays clean for the hamster to bath itself. Likewise with any seeds, bedding or droppings on platforms, they can be swept off about once every 1 to 2 weeks or as necessary.

Some hamsters might urinate in their dig boxes as well, in which case its contents needs to be removed in a similar 1 to 2 week frequency. Otherwise you can replace the contents about once per months to clean out seeds and droppings. 

About once per month or two you should replace the sand partially or fully, since it absorbs oils and dirt from the hamsters fur. You can also dust off bedding from platforms, hides etc. About once per month you can replace sprays, removing the harvested stems and adding new ones.

If your hamster has a toilet area above ground but also burrows it might be useful to check those burrows about once per month or two for any soiled bedding.

Do I need to replace all the bedding?

Like already mentioned in the beginning, when removing bedding from the enclosure we also pull out important scent marks which give the hamster a sense of safety and home. If you clean out soiled bedding regularly replacing all the bedding fully or partially is unnecessary, stressful and should be avoided.

The only exception to this is when a full clean is recommended by a vet due to a pest infestation or illness, as well when the hamster passes away and you want to reuse the cage for a new animal.

During a full clean you need to toss out all the bedding and clean all items in the cage. Plastic and ceramic can be washed with water and dish soap. Cork logs and grapevines can be washed with hot water in the bathtub and then dried in the oven. Wooden items can be baked at 100 ° C or 212 ° F for one hour. Items which are too big for the oven like large wooden or cork logs can be cleaned with boiling water.

The cage needs to be cleaned with white vinegar and water. Make sure to go over with clean water afterwards until there’s no smell of the cleaner used.